I believe I have the ultimate bragging rights against my brothers because I have not watched a single game of the “march madness”, I know absolutely nothing about any of the teams…and I am still doing so much better than both of my brothers in the bracket. My brothers, of course, have probably watched like every game (or at least parts of every game) and had strategies and what not for their brackets.

I have done pretty well (especially considering how I chose my teams), and even have the remaining four teams correct.

On the women side, Rutgers made the “Elite 8” over the weekend. 🙂

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Today, people all around the world switched off lights (dimming buildings, hotels, restaurants, bars, etc.) to show concern with global warming for one hour starting at 8 P.M., local time. According to an article on Yahoo!:

“Up to 30 million people were expected to have switched off their lights for 60 minutes by the time “Earth Hour” –which started in Suva in Fiji and Christchurch in New Zealand — has completed its cycle westward.

More than 380 towns and cities and 3,500 businesses in 35 countries signed up for the campaign that is in its second year after it began in 2007 in Sydney alone.”

Toronto’s CN Tower and its surrounding skyline was also expected to be in darkness for the hour.

Google even changed its homepage background to black from white on more than a dozen country sites, and had a message on the site which read: “We’ve turned the lights out. Now it’s your turn.” Here’s a picture of Google’s homepage from today:

What a neat idea..I love it. It’s for such a good cause and it will prove that little things add up to make a big difference. Most people do not even realize yet how big of a deal global warming actually is and what its consequences will be in the future.

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For the second year in a row, Rutgers University students organized a walk out in protest of the war. For weeks, students could see the signs everywhere on campus encouraging everyone to walk out of their daily routines to protest the ongoing U.S. occupation in Iraq. Through email correspondence, facebook, and signs on campus, the majority of people got the message that “The Walk Out is occurring whether rain or shine! Walk out of class, your dorm room, the dining hall, your work, anywhere at 1:23 p.m.”.

At promptly 1:23 PM on Thursday March 27, 2008, the protesters gathered at the Vietnam Memorial in Voorhees Mall on College Avenue.

At two points during the march, the protesters (Rutgers University students and faculty, along with New Brunswick community members) sat down in the middle of George Street for brief sit-ins. One specific one was at the intersection of George and Albany streets in downtown New Brunswick, and was timed to last five minutes, representing one minute for each of the five years the Iraq war has gone on.

Protesters joined together with chants like “Hey, Bush, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?”

According to Home News Tribune, “Hundreds of demonstrators blocked George Street, marched up Route 18 and rallied at Rutgers University’s Voorhees Mall on College Avenue”.

According to the Courier News,

“There was a visible law enforcement presence throughout the event, including police cars that blocked off points along the marchers’ route, a N.J. State Police helicopter hovering overhead, and plainclothes police snapping photos of the crowd.”

Some professors even chose to cancel classes in support of the students’ decision to protest. Also, according to the Daily Targum:

Part-time lecturer Bruce Reynolds of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies said although he does not have a personal opinion on the value of the Walk Out, he still cancelled his Writing and Editing for Print class in order to let anyone participate if they chose to.

“I think [protests] are as much a part of the college experience as anything else, and to deny them access to the Walk Out would be to deny them access to part of their education,” he said.

In addition to canceling class, Reynolds gave his students an assignment to write a news story about the Walk Out for extra credit. An assignment, he said, would be a good test of his students’ objectivity.

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Bill Richardson endorsed Obama today at a rally in Portland, Oregon, saying “Barack Obama will make a great and historic president”.

Earlier, In an email to supporters, Richardson wrote:

Earlier this week, Sen. Barack Obama gave a historic speech that addressed the issue of race with the eloquence, sincerity, and optimism we have come to expect of him. He inspired us by reminding us of the awesome potential residing in our own responsibility. He asked us to rise above our racially divided past, and to seize the opportunity to carry forward the work of many patriots of all races, who struggled and died to bring us together.

As a Hispanic, I was particularly touched by his words. I have been troubled by the demonization of immigrants — specifically Hispanics — by too many in this country. Hate crimes against Hispanics are rising as a direct result and now, in tough economic times, people look for scapegoats and I fear that people will continue to exploit our racial differences–and place blame on others not like them . We all know the real culprit — the disastrous economic policies of the Bush administration!

Sen. Obama has started a discussion in this country long overdue and rejects the politics of pitting race against race. He understands clearly that only by bringing people together, only by bridging our differences can we all succeed together as Americans.

His words are those of a courageous, thoughtful and inspiring leader, who understands that a house divided against itself cannot stand. And, after nearly eight years of George W. Bush, we desperately need such a leader.

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Of course anyone who knows me knows that I know pretty much nothing about sports, but I filled out a “March Madness” bracket for fun. Even though I picked my teams based on which one of the two sounded better, it is still a fun activity.

Here’s my bracket:

Either way, so far I have only lost one game. 🙂

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I just read on the website of my local newspaper that a road nearby would be closed tonight due to the “anticipation of the annual salamander migration”. This is definitely the first time I’ve heard of such a thing.

East Brunswick Environmental Commission Vice Chairman Richard Wolfert said the drop in temperature to below 40 degrees Tuesday night and about a half-inch of rain today are creating ideal conditions for the migration.Wolfert said that with the proper weather, it’s also possible that a number of frogs will be crossing the street to the vernal pools as well.

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I am not one for playing games on the computer or game systems normally, but I am, without a doubt, addicted to the Sims.

As basic as it was, the original Sims 1 captured my interest. Sims 2 is without a doubt the most intricately detailed game I could have imagined.

While I played only the Original Sims, I did try out all the expansion packs (but only a few of the Stuff Packs) for the Sims 2 and I definitely have my favorites. There are pros and cons for all the expansion packs though, but the pros usually outweigh the cons for me.

Now, with the first of the Sims 3 information being released today, I am definitely excited and will go crazy waiting another 21 months for the game to be released (it’s not supposed to be released until December 2009 — that’s without any further delays).

What I like best about the Sims 3 is that now we are no longer going to be playing one household at a time, and are free to move about the neighborhood (without loading up yet another screen that takes forever sometimes) and time moves on everywhere. This is definitely a great change!

For all you interested in the Sims, click here for the official Sims 3 website!